Doctor Who: 5 Men Who Were Almost The Doctor

The Second Doctor Was: Patrick Troughton was The First Doctor William Hartnell's personal choice as his successor. A noted character actor, Troughton brought a light-hearted, bumbling style of performance that nonetheless hid a deep cunning. Pretty much everything that Matt Smith does as the Eleventh Doctor he's copying from Patrick Troughton... well, except the awkward high school romantics. There he's apparently drawing inspiration from Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles.

But It Was Almost: If you recognize Valentine Dyall it's because he is one of the great horror actors of the 1960s. He appeared in The Haunting and Horror Hotel as well as many other roles where a man with a smooth yet sinister voice and a craggy face were needed to make people uncomfortable. Instead of the Cosmic Hobo, The Second Doctor might have been something closer to The Master, though it's worth noting that many actors would use Doctor Who to break from previous roles.

Then again, maybe not. Dyall would eventually be cast in Doctor Who as the villainous Black Guardian, who was an enemy of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. He also had the creepiest laugh of any man on the planet. Ironically, Troughton himself would voice The Black Guardian in radio stories.

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As I pointed out on Twitter, Rowan Atkinson actually WAS the Doctor, just not officially. This definitely deserved a mention in the article - worth watching if you've not already seen it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM